ACLAS: Is this even legal?

[spree610]

Atlanta College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
October 22, 2024

All consumers are advised that Atlanta College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has not obtained a Certificate of Authorization or Notice of Exemption to operate from the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (“GNPEC”).

Pursuant to Georgia law, unless a Notice of Exemption has been issued by GNPEC, “[n]o person, agent, group, or entity of whatever kind, alone or in concert with others, shall…[o]perate in this state a nonpublic postsecondary educational institution or conduct postsecondary activities in this state unless issued a current certificate of valid authorization by [GNPEC’s] executive director.” See O.C.G.A. § 20-3-250.3 and O.C.G.A. § 20-3-250.7(a)(l).

Accordingly, to the extent this institution is operating, it does so without GNPEC’s permission, and GNPEC has concerns about the nature of this entity's operations. Consumers are strongly encouraged to consider this information prior to applying to or enrolling in this institution.

Please direct questions or inquiries regarding this matter to info@gnpec.ga.gov.
https://gnpec.georgia.gov/student-resour...mer-alerts

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

News from February 03, 2025:

Atlanta College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Achieves QAHE accreditation. "The accreditation process conducted by QAHE included a comprehensive evaluation of ACLAS's academic offerings, faculty qualifications, student support services, and institutional governance."

https://www.qahe.org/atlanta-college-of-...editation/

What are those faculty qualifications? Did they only share them with QAHE? :-)

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Personally, I don't care if a college/university receives QAHE accreditation. There are some universities that have QAHE accreditation and also possess real accreditation in their country. The vast majority do not. ACLAS still does not. It's the government-recognized accreditation that really counts. QAHE or ASIC is all about branding, nothing serious that would have consequences in credential evaluation and recognition.

1️⃣ I completely agree that state or government recognition is what truly matters; QAHE accreditation doesn’t change that fact.
An unaccredited institution can still have legal authority to confer degrees if it is registered and authorized to operate under the laws of its jurisdiction.
However, ACLAS seems to lack authorization in the State of Georgia, meaning it doesn’t even meet the threshold of a state-registered unaccredited institution of higher learning.

2️⃣ In both the U.S. and abroad, some institutions operate lawfully and confer degrees without recognized accreditation.
That does not imply government endorsement or quality assurance—only that they are legally permitted to do so.

For example, the State of Utah allows degree-granting institutions to operate without accreditation as long as they follow strict state requirements.
Without that kind of legal authorization, though, no amount of marketing or pseudo-accreditation can make ACLAS more legitimate.
(And yes, I was also surprised to see them display CPD, which is a legitimate continuing professional development framework.)

3️⃣ A clarification about ASIC and QAHE — they are not equivalent, and ASIC shouldn’t be dismissed in the same breath as QAHE.
QAHE may accredit some real schools, but that does not make it comparable in legitimacy or utility to ASIC.

The argument “ASIC = QAHE, therefore neither matters” isn't quite true; if A ≠ B, the conclusion cannot hold.
ASIC-accredited institutions that are legally registered and authorized to confer degrees do receive positive outcomes in credential evaluations.
By contrast, QAHE has no government authorization or formal recognition by any quality assurance body.

4️⃣ Let’s be clear:

• ASIC is a recognized UK Government accreditor for immigration and visa purposes (UKVI).
  
• It has defined quality standards, even if lighter than regional accreditors.
  
• ASIC and BAC are both listed on CHEA’s International Quality Group (CIQG) working directory —
  CHEA International Directory – ASIC https://www.chea.org/international-direc...l-colleges
  CHEA International Directory – BAC https://www.chea.org/international-direc...on-council
  While this does not imply CHEA recognition, it confirms engagement at a global standards level.
  

QAHE, on the other hand,

• Has no government mandate,
  
• Is not listed or affiliated with CHEA, and
  
• Does not participate in any recognized quality assurance network.
  

So in terms of credibility, ASIC and BAC are clearly above QAHE, even if not at the level of ACBSP or AACSB.

5️⃣ Bottom line:

Credential evaluators have indeed issued positive assessments for degrees from institutions holding ASIC accreditation, especially when those schools also have lawful authority to confer degrees in their country or state.

When ACBSP accreditation accompanies ASIC, a favorable evaluation is virtually guaranteed.

In short, there’s no need to “poop on ASIC” in a thread where it doesn’t belong. It’s not perfect, but it occupies a legitimate niche within international quality assurance—something QAHE has not yet earned.

And yes, I share the sentiment about Validential — surprising at first, but their decision to de-certify the initial ACLAS evaluation is a promising sign that they may be improving their review standards moving forward.